Note: And this is the chapter that will screw over thousands of viewers with badly-disguised cliffhangers and flame-worthy context. Oh...boy. Here we go. -hides under anti-flame umbrella-
I don't own Jak and Daxter. I do, however, own my twisted brain.
On with the show!
Chapter 24 (At this point, I'm not sure if there's anything I can add...)
Torn winced as the sound of vomiting from the bathroom told him Jak was sick. Seriously sick. "Jak? Are you alright-"
"Yes! I'm peachy. Hold on, dear, and let me finish puking. Then let's go about our fucking day!"
Torn winced at the inflected angry sarcasm. He looked up to see Jak looking a bit green in the face, scowling and glaring with those big blue eyes of his, now icy with distress. "Jak? What's going on?" Jak's eyes suddenly went from "Fuck Off" to "Weepy" mode. "I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling so hot today." he said apologetically, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, we don't have to go out today. Let's just stay here today, and you can rest up. Ok?" Jak nodded at the request and flopped back down onto the bed. Torn sat next to him and kissed his forehead gently, like he'd done when Jak had the flu. "Well, you don't have a fever. That's odd. Maybe it's just a bug."
"Oh, this is going to ruin the rest of our honeymoon!"
"No it won't, it's ok. You're still young and your body hasn't had time to encounter and fight off all the diseases and bugs in the world yet. Who knows? Maybe this is that kind of bug that, now you have it, you'll never get it again."
"Like the Yakkow pox?"
"Yeah." Jak smiled weakly.
"Ok."
"So you rest today, and I'll go grab some break--"
"No way, man! I'm not letting you out on the road here if you can't read the friggin' signs!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ok, testy. I'll just give you a soda and some crackers or something, then. Ok?"
"Ok..." Jak mumbled apologetically. Torn went to get them, exhaling deeply and wondering why Jak was so moody. 'It's just the hormones. Teenagers...' He thought to himself. 'At least he's not pregnant. God, I would jump off a cliff.' He shuddered visibly. "What was that for?!" Jak called, seeing his shudder.
"Just wondering what life would be like if it turned out you were pregnant or something."
"I am not pregnant, you jackass!" Jak called angrily, throwing a throw pillow at Torn's head, nailing him right in the nose.
"Ow!"
"That was a fucking pillow, you wuss."
"You are really strong, you know that? Yes. That was a pillow. Yes. You threw it with enough force that it connected with my face and caused me physical pain."
"Wuss."
"Bitch."
"Fuck you."
"Maybe later. Here." Torn put the food items from the mini-fridge in the room down next to the bed, on the wooden nightstand. "Thanks." Jak said. "Get some sleep, ok? I'll be back a little later. I'm going to walk around, check out how much stuff this hotel really has."
"Ok."
"Call my communicator if you need anything."
"I will."
Torn finished with a sweet kiss to Jak's nose and walked out. He pushed a button on the elevator, taking him down to the lobby. Franklin was sitting down on one of the lobby benches, obviously on break. "Hey Franklin. "
"Hey, Mr. Torn. Everything ok?"
"Yeah, Jak's not feeling so well today so I'm going to go out and get him something special. Wanna come with?"
"Nah, I've got to get back to work in about ten minutes, but thanks for the offer."
"Anytime." Torn pushed open the door and walked out.
Meanwhile, Jak was half-fuming, half-asleep on the bed. He was mostly fuming at himself for being sick. "Why did I have to go and get sick on my honeymoon? Oh...I went and yelled at Torn, too...I hate this. Yipe!" Jak jumped up out of bed to begin barfing into the toilet again. "Jesus! I -hwarlf- am SO going to kill somebody over this... -hwarlf- Ow...this is beginning to hurt my chest..." Jak complained, finishing his puking and looking up. He smacked his lips. "Gross. Puke breath." He grabbed his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth furiously.
Torn was down in the hotel gift shop. "Gawdamn signs!" He said out loud. "Excuse me, sir, may I help you find something?"
"Yeah, what's good for a sick friend in bed?" Torn asked, pointedly avoiding the word "husband" just in case this woman was narrow minded at all. "Why, we've got a whole rack of get well presents and cards to your right!" She said cheerfully. "Anything specific I could find?"
"Um, yeah, are there any that just say 'I Love You, Get Well Soon?"
"This sweet little bear is perfect!" The woman smiled and handed a cute fluffy white bear to him. "Ok. How much is it?" The woman responded with the price and then Torn realized he didn't remember which bills were which. So he winged it and out of a sheer stroke of luck or some forgiving god's influence, he picked the right one and left the store with the little bear in a cute festive box. Torn stopped in his tracks when he realized, 'Oh Lord, I must be going soft. Buying sweet little presents for a seventeen year old hormonal boy? Jeez, what's going on with me?' Torn shook his head and continued walking. "I want to make something really special... I got it!" And Torn sat down on an outdoor bench and studied the signs around him, attempting on his life to make heads or tails of them.
Finally, after hours of staring and going through everything in his head, he figured out barely enough to scrawl out the words, "I Levt Lio, Kaj, Levt Torn" on a piece of paper and shove it in the bag.
When Torn got back up to the room, Jak was dead asleep. Torn left the present and the paper on the nightstand and slipped into the hot tub after removing his outer clothing silently. "Man, I love this thing." He whispered to himself cheerfully.
Jak woke up about 15 minutes later and the first thing he noticed was a big white ribbon. He looked to his right and saw a big box and a piece of paper. "I Levt Lio, Kaj, Levt Torn?" Jak asked out loud. "Damn it!" was the response from the bathroom. The toilet flushed and Torn came out. "It's supposed to say 'I Love You, Jak, Love Torn'. I guess I spelled it wrong."
"You learned this by yourself?"
"I was staring at street signs for three hours." Torn said. Jak's eyes watered lovingly. "Oh, Torn!" he threw himself at Torn, wrapping the older man in a crushing hug. "Hullf!" Torn moaned in pain. "Jak...choking...not breathing..." Jak let him go. "Oh, Torn! I'm so proud of you!"
"I realize that. Apparently, to you, breaking people's ribs is a sign of pride." Torn responded in a deadpan manner, rubbing his chest. Jak giggled high-pitched. "What's in the box?"
"Open it!" Torn said. Jak tore the wrapper off the box and looked inside. He squealed girlishly. "Oh, look at how cute it is!" Jak hugged the bear.
"Not that I'm not happy you like it, but your hormones are beginning to scare me." Torn commented dryly. Jak jumped up and kissed him fiercely. Torn returned the kiss, happy that Jak was feeling better.
End of Chapter 24
Why was Jak sick? Will Torn ever learn how to read? Will this fic ever end? No one knows! Join us for chapter 25, where Jak's illness is explained, Torn sits down for some serious learning, and this fic STILL doesn't end! Yay!